


Mending the pieces

by katwriting



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: 2x19 follow-up, A Bit of Fluff, Alec lets himself be sad after the breakup, Eventual Fluff, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, I added a happy ending, Izzy is the best sister in the world and tries to help him through it, M/M, Malec, and a hopeful ending, at least a bit of comfort, he remembers their date in Tokyo, malec fanfiction, shadowhunters fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-13 08:18:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11755782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katwriting/pseuds/katwriting
Summary: After that nightmare of a cabinet meeting, Alec goes back to his room and remembers better times with Magnus – like the one time when they got those photo booth pictures done. Tons of hurt, a bit of fluff and a happy ending – enjoy!Alec sighed deeply when he strode over to the desk and picked the photos up, running his thumb over his favorite one. When his eyes started prickling with unshed tears again, he blinked them back and then sat down on his bed, the strips of photos still in his hands. He ran a hand through his hair and then, even though he knew better, let his heart win over his head as he dove into the memory of the day when they had gotten those pictures taken.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you so much for all the kind reactions to my last fic. Those mean so much to me <3
> 
> This new one is kind of a follow-up to 2x19. After way too long, my writing mojo decided to come back to me yesterday, so here's around 3k words of hurt Alec, fluffy Malec and best sister in the world-Izzy. Hope you enjoy it, tell me what you think in the comments :) <3

After the seelie queen and Magnus had left the Institute, the rest of their emergency downworld council meeting dissolved rather quickly. Luke exchanged a worried glance with Raphael and then said goodbye, heading towards the Jade Wolf so he could talk to his pack. The vampire himself was led to one of the guestrooms of the Institute by Isabelle, since he couldn’t exactly go home in the middle of the day. He shook hands with Alec and promised to alert his clan right away.  
  
Jace and Clary took off soon after that, and Alec was left alone in the meeting room. He stood there for a few moments, unmoving, and stared at the table where they had sat just a few minutes ago, the banners representing the downworlders and the one with the Angelic Power rune waving lightly in the soft breeze that came in from Angel knew where.  
He remembered setting up that table a few weeks ago, just after he’d been appointed Head of the Institute. He’d been so full of hope then, so sure that there could be real progress if only he found the right people, people who were willing to make change happen. He’d been so confident that he had found those people in Luke, Raphael, Meliorn…and Magnus.  
  
“Now look where all that hope got you”, he said lowly to himself and then turned around, heading towards his office at first, but then choosing another hallway instead, the one that led to the sleeping quarters. Most of Alec’s work for the day was done and he didn’t want to see any other people right now.     
  
+++  
  
Alec was a practical guy. He’d always been. He didn’t care about details, as long as they didn’t concern demon hunting or important Clave assignments. It was a trait that characterized him – and that was also well displayed in his bedroom.  
  
As opposed to the guest rooms, the quarters of the Institute’s permanent residents were all quite different from each other. They all came with the same standard furniture, but most of the shadowhunters usually adapted their rooms to their own tastes at some point.  
  
Alec hadn’t. At least not a lot. Back when he’d moved in, he had gotten some curtains and carpets and at some point exchanged the standard double bed to a queen size so he could stretch out comfortably.  
But apart from that, the room still looked pretty much like the same as any guest room in the Institute. The only indication that Alec lived here were his clothes in the cabinet, his toiletries in the bathroom and a couple of personal bits and pieces scattered across the room – like the framed photo of Jace, Izzy, Max and him on his nightstand or a piece of adamas from his very first stele (which Jace had stepped on and successfully broken a couple days after he’d gotten it).  
Nothing too flashy, just a few things that mattered to him.  
  
At least, that had been the case before he had started dating Magnus and the warlock had started sleeping here from time to time.  
Most of the time Alec slept – had slept – at Magnus’ place. But from time to time, when Alec’s days at the office and Magnus’ list of clients had been long and the two of them too tired to portal or walk back to Brooklyn, they had just crashed in Alec’s room. And Magnus had left his marks in Alec’s room just like he had in his life. Like the dark blue suit jacket that hung from the back of the chair by the window. The extra toothbrush in the bathroom. The shiny purple silk scarf carefully folded on top of the dresser across from the bed. The delicate silver bracelet lying on his nightstand. Or the soft black cashmere sweater Magnus had carelessly thrown on top of Alec’s bed just a few days ago, now totally wrinkled since Alec had slept at the loft for the past couple of days.  
  
Looking at those little traces of his ex-boyfriend – even thinking the word made Alec cringe in pain -  made Alec’s chest tighten and his eyes burn with tears threatening to spill. He still hadn’t really processed what had happened in that hallway in front of the infirmary, hadn’t really let himself accept that whatever Magnus and him thought they’d had, was over.  
It just hurt too much. Every time his gaze dragged over the remains of Magnus’ presence in his life scattered across his room, he felt like he was going to suffocate.  
  
And yet, those small bits and pieces – the sweater, the bracelet, the jacket – were not even the worst. The worst thing was still waiting for him, lying on his desk, its bright blue color clearly standing out against the old Clave cases he had left it upon. It was a short strip of photos, taken from a photo booth in Japan. Four photos, four moments that had been not that long ago but still felt like they were from another life.    
  
Alec sighed deeply when he strode over to the desk and picked the photos up, running his thumb over his favorite one – Magnus was looking straight into the camera, the hint of a smirk on his lips while Alec was sitting next to him, smiling at him with a wide grin and looking the happiest had probably ever been.     
  
When his eyes started prickling with unshed tears again, he blinked them back and then sat down on his bed, the strips of photos still in his hands. He ran a hand through his hair and then, even though he knew better, let his heart win over his head as he dove into the memory of the day when they had gotten those pictures taken.  
  
+++  
  
It was a sunny day in Tokyo and Alec’s head was buzzing. And for once, it was not because he had worked too much. Actually, it was quite the opposite. Earlier this day, Magnus had shown up on his doorstep unannounced, dressed to the nines and with a sly smile pulling at his lips.  
  
They had been seeing each other quite a lot recently, had gone out for dinner, met up for lunch or just spent time together for the sake of it, getting to know each other better day by day. Today, however, Alec had not been expecting Magnus as he’d been on a warlock conference in London.    
  
“Magnus…what are you doing here?”  
  
“The conference ended earlier, so I’m putting that extra time to good use and taking you out, Alexander. Come on, you’re taking the rest of the day off”, the warlock had announced, opening up a portal right next to him with a flick of his wrist.  
  
Alec had just stared at him, astonished and frozen mid-movement in surprise. “What?”, he’d babbled, still too surprised by Magnus’ words to form a proper sentence.    
  
“We’re going on a date, Alexander”, Magnus had chuckled and then walked over to where Alec was still sitting frozen at his desk, grabbed the shadowhunter’s hands and pulled him up and towards the portal. “And the best thing is – we’re not telling anyone where we’re going.”  
  
And before Alec had the chance to protest, Magnus had pulled them into the portal.  
  
Their first stop had been Prague, one of Magnus’ favorite cities, as he’d admitted once they’d stepped out of the portal. Magnus had shown him around the city, showing him his favorite spots. They’d grabbed coffee and then strolled around the old city center, taking a couple of selfies at the famous Charles Bridge. Then, Magnus had portaled them up to the castle and they’d enjoyed the view over the city from there.    
  
Now, they were in Tokyo, walking hand in hand through the busy streets. They may have left New York in the late afternoon, but it had already been the morning of the next day when they’d arrived in Japan. And since both Alec and Magnus had been hungry, they’d grabbed some more coffee and breakfast at a bakery. They were just debating whether they should stay in town for the rest of the day or go someplace else, when Magnus suddenly squealed in delight and then all but dragged Alec towards what seemed to be a shopping mall across the street.    
  
“One of my favorite interior stores is in there”, the warlock explained when he realized his date’s confused look once they’d entered the mall. “Would it be okay if we stopped there for a second? I want to redecorate my living room a bit and they might just have the things I need.”  
  
“Sure, I don’t mind”, Alec shrugged and then followed Magnus through the halls, letting himself be pulled through the crowd while he tried not to step on anyone’s feet. Because of that, he almost ran into Magnus when the warlock suddenly stopped dead in his steps.  
  
Alec looked around them and frowned. He may not speak Japanese, but he knew what a furniture store looked like – and there was most definitely none in their nearer environment. “Magnus, why are we stopping here?”  
  
The warlock didn’t reply, just slowly turned toward him and smiled at him with a wicked spark in his eyes. He then nodded with his head towards the wall and Alec turned, seeing nothing but stores lining up next to each other, people walking from one shop to another…and, nestled into a corner not far from them, a photo booth.  
  
Alec looked back at Magnus and tried to make his voice sound as firm as possible. “No.”  
  
“Alexander, please. This has been a really great date so far. I’d like to remember that.”  
  
“Nice try, Magnus. But there is no way you’re getting me into that thing. There’s not even enough space for both of us. And you would be wasting your money on stupid pictures.”  
  
Magnus pouted. “But why would we be wasting it? We’re getting cute pictures in return!”  
  
Alec let out a dry laugh. “Yeah, sure. For an insanely overpriced fee. Also, I don’t look good in photos.”  
  
Alec was silenced by Magnus’ lips suddenly pressing up to his own. “Trust me, Alexander. You look quite spectacular today”, Magnus muttered against his lips when he pulled away. And then, without further ado, he tightened his grip on Alec’s hand and pulled him towards the photo booth.  
  
Once they were in there, it took them a second to figure out how to do this. They were both not the shortest people in the world, and the small space had definitely not been designed for two people who were respectively at the verge or over 6 feet tall. Once the two had managed to squeeze onto the small bench in the photo booth, Magnus pulled the curtain closed and looked over to Alec. “You ready?”  
  
The shadowhunter rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. “As ready as I’ll ever be after being kidnapped by a warlock and pulled into a photo booth against my will.”  
  
Magnus tutted disapprovingly as he leaned forward to slip a few coins into the machine in front of them, starting the count down for their first photo. “Now, Alexander, don’t make this something it isn’t. And now get your most beautiful smile ready, pretty boy.”  
  
When the flash went off for the first time, they were both just smiling into the camera, sitting up close and next to each other. However, for the next shot Magnus wanted to shake things up a bit. While Alec stayed put, smiling into the camera, Magnus turned and wrapped his arms around Alec from behind. He dropped his head on Alec’s shoulders and looked into the camera with a hint of a smile, just as the flash went off for a second time. For the third photo, each of them made a face, resulting in Alec starting to laugh because they both looked so stupid. He barely managed to pull himself together before the flash went off one final time, resulting in a fourth photo that showed Magnus smiling and him in the background still laughing at the warlock.  
  
“Now tell me in which of those beautiful pictures you look stupid, Alexander”, Magnus said as he looked at the two strips of photos that had been printed out for them. Alec stood behind Magnus and peeked over his shoulder, barely able to hide his smile when he saw the pictures – they actually looked good, cute even. He felt his heart flutter in his chest when he saw how utterly happy and carefree they looked. Not like a warlock and a shadowhunter who were trying their best to keep their world from falling into war, but like a normal couple, just two people in love.  
  
“Admit it, you like them”, Magnus laughed as he caught Alec looking at the photos. He turned around and smiled up at the shadowhunter. “You wouldn’t be smiling so much if you didn’t.”  
  
“Maybe I do. But tell you what – I like you even better in person”, Alec chuckled and then closed the remaining distance between them so he could finally kiss that smug smile off the warlock’s face.    
      
+++  
  
Alec didn’t realize when he had started to let the tears fall. Probably sometime through that painful memory of when Magnus and him had been a lot happier. It was not like it mattered. He’d been trying to hold himself together for the sake of his job and the Institute for almost a week now, he just couldn’t find it in him to care about how he looked on the outside anymore. It was not like anyone was watching him, anyways.  
  
And lying to himself – or other people, for that matter – had never really gotten him anywhere. So he stopped pretending.  
  
Stopped pretending that he was fine, quit playing the strong leader who couldn’t be bothered with such mundane things as heartbreak. Instead, Alec let all those feelings that had been stored up inside him for days out and let himself be flooded with suppressed emotions.  
He sat on his bed, hunched over, the strip of photos in his hands, and cried like he hadn’t for years.  Let it all out – the pain, the sadness, the anger about losing Magnus, the guilt for losing him like this, everything. He sat there and sobbed and for once in his life couldn’t care less about anything else than the pain of losing his boyfriend.  
  
So when someone knocked at his door a couple of minutes later, he ignored it. For all he cared that moment, whoever was looking for him could take of their problems themselves.  
  
He didn’t realize someone had entered his room until he heard the muffled sound of heels on carpet and noticed an all too familiar note of floral perfume in the air. The mattress dipped beside him and when he looked up, he looked straight into the dark, worried eyes of his sister.  
  
“Oh, Alec”, Izzy breathed when she took in his pale face, reddened eyes and the tell-tale streaks of tears on his cheeks.  
  
Alec could just shrug before another sob forced its way up his throat. He covered his face with his hands and tried to wipe the tears away, but it was no use – they wouldn’t stop falling. Alec heard Izzy sigh and a second later, he was wrapped up in a warm embrace. He hesitated for a moment, but then he let himself fall into it, wrapped his arms around Izzy, buried his face in her dark hair and hugged her tight. It wasn’t the embrace he craved so much, that one was way out of his reach, but it was warm and safe and it helped.    
  
Wrapped up in Izzy’s arms like that, he finally managed to calm down a bit. He still felt like his heart had ripped itself apart, but at least the tears dried eventually and his breathing evened out.  
  
“I’m sorry”, he sniffed once the worst was over and he could look at Izzy again, “for behaving like this.”  
  
Izzy tilted her head to the side, her eyes full of sympathy. She brought her hand up to the side of Alec’s face and brushed her fingers over his cheek. “Don’t apologize for feeling awful. It’s only human. And even though we’re half angels and warriors and whatnot…you’re allowed to feel human, Alec.”  
  
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just miss him so much”, Alec admitted, voice raspy from crying.  The second after the words had left his mouth, he realized that this was the first time he admitted it to himself and to others. The first time that he’d really, genuinely feel himself the loss that came with the love of your life walking away from you. And even though that still felt awful, it also felt good.  
  
Alec let out a deep sigh. “It’s just…I don’t want to be without him. I know we’ve only been dating for a couple of months, but…it just doesn’t feel right when he’s not here.”  
  
He grabbed Izzy’s hand, brushing his fingers over hers. “I love him, Izzy”, he said absentmindedly as played with a heavy gold bracelet Izzy was wearing instead of her usual snake bracelet. The material and color made his heart clench with nostalgia. This was something Magnus would wear.  
  
When he looked up at Izzy again, her bright red lips were pulled into a sympathetic smile. “I know you do. He loves you, too.”  
  
“Then why did he leave me? I know I messed up, but up until last week, we always somehow found our way through tough times.”  
  
Izzy sighed. “I don’t know, big brother. But what I know is that the two of you belong together. You both had a lot to deal with lately…maybe all you need to do is give each other sometime. I see how you love Magnus and if he loves you even half as much, you will work through this.”  
  
Alec’s shoulders slumped and ran a hand through his already mussed hair. “Well, I guess that’s all I can hope for right now.”  
  
Izzy just squeezed his hand. “I suppose, yes.”  
  
They sat next to each other in comfortable silence after that, Alec still lost in his thoughts. After a while, Izzy hugged him one more time and kissed his cheek, then got up to leave. Just as she was walking towards the door, the silence was disturbed by the buzzing of Alec’s phone in his pocket.  
  
The shadowhunter frowned in confusion. He didn’t expect any more business calls for today, as he’d already spoken to both the Inquisitor and the downworld representatives.  
  
And he was right – it was not a business call. It was Magnus.  
  
Alec felt panic rise in his chest when he looked at his screen, Magnus smiling up at him from a photo he’d taken on that day in Tokyo. “Izzy, it’s him. What am I supposed to do?”  
  
Isabelle just laughed. “What do you think? Pick up, of course”, she said and then turned around, walking towards the door. “Talk to him”, she called before the heavy door fell close and left him in silence again.  
  
Not actually silence, since his phone was still buzzing. Alec looked at the photo of Magnus for a second, and then took a deep breath and swiped right to accept the call. What could go wrong? It was not like he had anything left to lose anyways.    
  
His voice was full of hesitation nonetheless.  “Hello?”  
  
For a couple of moments, there was silence on the other end, the only noise Alec heard being slow breaths coming from the other end.  
When Magnus finally spoke, his voice sounded equally hesitant and sad, but there was also something else in it, something Alec could not pinpoint right away.  
  
“Alexander.”  
  
It wasn’t until Magnus had breathed out that single word that Alec recognized that odd note in his voice.  
  
It was hope.  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a oneshot, but I realized that it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. And even though I am a bit unhappy with how this chapter turned out ( I suck at writing dialogue, especially sad dialogue -.-), this is not going to become any better over night - so, without further ado, here's part 2, this time including the happy ending some of you requested :)
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated very much. Enjoy reading! :)

“Alexander.”

Alec paused for a moment before replying. It was strange hearing from Magnus again, after nothing but radio silence for almost a week. “Hey. What’s up?”

“One of my fellow warlocks just called me, she said that there was something wrong with her clearance – she wanted to trade potions this morning in Central Park just as she always does, and apparently she got in trouble with some shadowhunters. They said that she didn’t have the clearance or something to do that. She’s been doing this for years. How can there be a problem all of a sudden?”

Alec frowned, trying his best to make his voice sound as professional as he could. “Uh…that might be because the Inquisitor has recently extended the restrictions on potion trading. But as far as I know, those restrictions are only about the stuff that is already prohibited. There shouldn’t be any problems. But I’ll have someone from the security department look into it.”

Magnus’ voice sounded nothing but polite and professional when he answered. “That would be great. Thank you.”

“No problem. Is that all or do you need anything else?”

 “No…uh…actually, I meant to ask you something. Even though that is no longer of my business.” Alec heard Magnus take a deep breath on the other end before he continued speaking. “How are you doing?”

Alec sighed. “Depends…do you want the standard answer or the actual one?”

The polite, distant tone in Magnus’ voice was all gone when he replied. Instead, he sounded “I know I have no right to request anything from you right now, but…an honest answer one would be great.”

Alec ignored the slight ache in his chest as he listened to Magnus referring to him and the issue of honesty all over again. To distract himself, he reached over to his nightstand and picked up the silver bracelet Magnus had left there a couple of weeks ago. While he ran his fingers over the metal and the intricate patterns engraved into it, he thought of how to word his answer.   

“Look…I guess there is no good way to say this, but…I don’t feel good. Not at all. I’m sorry if this is more information than you wanted, but you asked for it.”

That last sentence came out way harsher than Alec had intended it to be, and despite everything, he felt bad.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so rude. I guess I’m just…tired”, he said and rubbed his hand over his eyes.

“It’s okay, Alec. I wanted to know and you’re being honest. I guess you could be a lot harsher to me and I would still deserve it”, Magnus responded.

There was another moment of silence and Magnus sighed. “This is way more awkward than I expected it to be. I should go...this was not a good idea after all, I- “

“I miss you”, Alec blurted out before Magnus could hang up. “You probably don’t want to hear this, but I do.”

Another few seconds silence followed, no less awkward than before. When Magnus spoke again, however, his voice didn’t sound as strained as earlier. There was still a cautious tone to it, but he sounded softer, like the words were coming from his heart rather than from his head.  

“I miss you too.”

The only thing Alec could hear after that was his blood rushing through his veins and his rapid heartbeat. He stared at the wall across from his bed, totally at a loss for words. He’d been expecting many things, but definitely not Magnus missing him too. Not after how he’d looked at him during the council meeting.

“Look”, the warlock continued, “this is weird on the phone. I don’t know if you want to but maybe if you have time…we could meet up and talk about things? Of course you have every right to say no, but…I would really appreciate it if we could talk in person.”

Despite his head was yelling at him that he should know better, Alec let his lips pull into a cautious smile. “It really is weird. Are you at home?”

 “I am.”

“Good. I’m on my way.”

+++

Over time, Alec had memorized the way to Magnus’ apartment by heart. Usually, his walks from the Institute to Brooklyn were filled with happiness and excitement. Today, however, he just felt weird – hopeful and terrified at the same time. After all, Magnus agreeing to talk to him was more than he had gotten for the past week. But with everything that had happened between them, Alec was dreading to face Magnus again.  

Hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket, he stepped into the elevator of Magnus’ apartment building and ran through the sheer countless possible scenarios of what could happen – from Magnus forgiving him to something going terribly wrong and making their situation even more complicated. Although, as he had to admit himself, things could hardly get any worse than they already were.

When the elevator stopped with a high “ping” noise and the doors slid open, he took a deep breath before heading towards the polished black door of penthouse number 1. Alec raised his hand and knocked at the door, then took a step back and waited for Magnus to open. He heard shuffling steps inside the apartment, moving slowly towards the door and then the lock clicked and Magnus stood right in front of him.

The warlock looked tired, incredibly so. His eyes, usually the first hint at how Magnus was feeling, seemed darker than usual, toned down and dull.  Judging from his shiny blue silk shirt, the silver necklaces and matching eye shadow, Magnus was trying his best to hide that, but Alec had always been able to see right through his many façades and coping mechanisms. And although they had broken up, that had not changed.

This Magnus was nothing like the proud, confident warlock Alec loved so much. He seemed empty, burned out – and hurting just as much as Alec.

Instinctively, Alec wanted to reach out to Magnus, to pull him in and hug him until all his pain vanished. But then he reminded himself that he was the reason for Magnus feeling so bad in the first place and held himself back. Instead, he looked at Magnus and tried a careful smile. “Hey.”

“Hey”, the warlock responded, voice somewhat soft and eyes no longer as cold as they had been back at the Institute. “Come in.”

Alec walked past Magnus and then paused – under normal circumstances, he would have left his boots and jacket in the hallway and then joined Magnus in whatever the warlock was doing. Today, he hesitated. Entering Magnus’ apartment usually felt like coming home. Today, Alec felt like he was a guest walking into the place of a stranger.  

The shadowhunter tried his best to ignore that feeling, waited for Magnus to close the door and then followed him inside the living room, where Magnus motioned for him to sit down on the couch. Alec sat down in his usual spot, the warlock taking a seat across from him.

 “You want a drink? I could use one.”

Alec shook his head. “I’m good.”

“Just one for me, then”, Magnus said and with a wave of his hand, a glass appeared on the coffee table. Alec watched Magnus pick up the glass, take a sip and then stare into it, as if the solution to all of their problems lay in a glass of whiskey-rocks.

Neither of them said anything, the silence wavering between them like an awkward barrier. To avoid staring at Magnus and make this even more unpleasant, Alec started to play with the fringes of one of the expensive couch cushions.

That didn’t help much though, if anything, it made the quiet even more suffocating. So Alec took a deep breath, tried to pull himself together as best as he could, and approached the gigantic elephant in the room.

“You know you could have just called the Institute general office this morning”, he blurted out. “Someone from the ops center would have picked up. They would have been able to help you much faster than I did. You didn’t have to call me.”

“I know that”, Magnus said slowly, absentmindedly swirling his drink in his glass. “But I wanted to.”

Alec frowned. “Why?”

“Because I wanted to talk to you.” The warlock took a deep breath, almost as if he had to brace himself for something. “And because I need to apologize.”

Alec rose his head and looked at the warlock. He didn’t quite believe what he’d just heard, and didn’t want to let himself build up hope. Not after having his heart shattered by the very person sitting across from him just a couple of days ago. 

So he didn’t say anything, just looked at Magnus, who had now placed his glass back on the coffee table and was looking straight at him.  

As if he were sensing Alec’s distrust, Magnus breathed out shakily and scooted a bit closer to Alec before he continued speaking.  
“I know I broke things off between us, and it’s all my fault that we are like…this.” He motioned to the distance between them – both the literal and figurative one - and sighed. “I thought…that if we both went into all those decisions level-headed, if we didn’t have to worry about our people _and_ each other, that all of this would be easier.”

“As if I would stop worrying about you just because we broke up”, Alec interjected and watched as Magnus cringed. But he didn’t feel sorry for his words. They were the truth.  

Magnus smiled sadly at the shadowhunter. “I know that now. But after everything that happened with the Soul Sword I was so mad and disappointed, it seemed like the only way to move on. And I am deeply sorry for that, you have to believe me, Alec”

Now it was Alec’s time to feel guilty. He reached out and gently took Magnus’ hand, smiling tentatively as the warlock’s stern features softened.

“You had every right to be mad about the sword. I should have told you right away, not keep it a secret from you. I’m sorry too, for betraying your trust like that.”

Magnus just shrugged. “We both made mistakes, did things we’re not proud of. But we can’t change that. But if there is anything good about mistakes, it’s that we can learn from them. And what I learned over these past few days is that I miss you terribly, Alexander.”

Alec felt his heart flutter at the sound of the name he’d hated so much growing up, but that sounded so beautiful coming from Magnus. Warmth started spreading in his chest and throughout his entire body as he realized where this conversation might be going. “I miss you too.”

Magnus reached out and grabbed Alec’s free hand, running his thumb softly at Alec’s knuckles. “Being apart from you also taught me another thing – that making decisions completely on my own doesn’t work so well for me anymore. Not since I met you. So I was wondering…if we promise each other that from now on there will be no more secrets between us, that we will always be honest to each other, no matter what – maybe you’d want to give this, us, another try?”

For a moment, Alec couldn’t do anything but stare at the warlock. It was only when he saw Magnus’ amused smile that he realized that he was supposed to say something. “Yeah”, he muttered, unable to hide the smile that was pulling at his lips, “I’d love that.”

The warlock let out a beautiful, soft laugh. “Great. So…does that mean that you and me, we’re good?”

Alec chuckled. “We’re good.”                                                                                                                                   

And then he couldn’t help but close the distance between them. He pulled Magnus into a crushing hug and buried his face in the warlock’s shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of fresh laundry and expensive cologne. As he felt his boyfriend relax into the embrace, the tension stored up in Alec’s body started to slowly fade away, making room for fluttering, bubbly happiness. And that happiness only multiplied when he felt Magnus’ fingers brush over his hair and his lips press a gentle kiss to his temple.  

“I love you so much, Alexander.”

Alec lifted his head, so he could look into Magnus’ eyes. The warlock had dropped his glamour and as always, the sight of Magnus’ natural eye color in the soft lighting of the loft left Alec completely in awe.

“I love you too”, he murmured and then leaned in to finally kiss Magnus.

That kiss was like so many kisses they’d shared before and yet felt like their first kiss all over again. It started out slow and gentle, a question that was quickly answered as it turned more passionate and loving. Magnus’ arms were steady around the shadowhunter, holding him and keeping him as close as they possibly could be. Alec gave back with everything he had, he poured all the love he had into the kiss as well as all the hurt and tears from the past few days, making the warlock shiver.

That kiss was making up for lost time as well as promising so much more for the future. It was giving and taking, remembering and promising, apologizing and forgiving – and it was everything Alec needed.

When they broke apart, both slightly out of breath, Alec hugged Magnus once more, leaning their foreheads together and relishing the feeling of having Magnus back in his arms.   

“No more secrets”, Alec breathed.

Magnus leaned away so he could look at Alec and then nodded, his cat gleaming like molten amber. “No more secrets.”

Alec moved back towards Magnus, but the warlock stopped him with a hand on his arm. Alec frowned and searched the warlock’s face for any clue what was going on, but Magnus just averted his gaze and bit his lip. “Actually, there is something I need to tell you. It’s about the Seelie queen. I spoke to one of her knights the other day and - “

Alec reached out and put one finger on the warlock’s lips, successfully shushing him. “Can we maybe not talk about the war right now? I know this is important, but I just got you back and…I don’t know, if it’s not about life or death, can we just save the work talk for later?”

Magnus beamed, his hand wandering up from Alec’s arm to his face, cupping his cheek. “That is completely fine by me, Alexander.”

And when they kissed again, Alec knew that even though this would not have been their last argument, they would never let something like this drive them apart again. Whatever came next, they would face it together. As a team and as a couple.

Naturally, it would never be easy. Alec knew that that there would always be times where they would not be on the same page. Especially when it came to decisions that effected both of their people. After all, both of them were leaders who had to look out not only for themselves, but for others as well.

The High Warlock of Brooklyn and the Head of the New York Institute would always have their differences. They would have opposite goals. Their interests would conflict. They would argue.

But Magnus and Alec? They would be okay.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? 
> 
> If you have any ideas/prompts for future fics you would like me to write, just send me a DM on [Tumblr](https://katwriting.tumblr.com/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kat_writing), I'm always looking for new writing inspiration. That is, if I don't die after the season finale on tuesday, of course :)

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I know...this is probably not how Malec are going to get back together, and they're probably not getting back together until season 3...but a girl can dream, right? :)
> 
> This was inspired by the episode, but also by [these](https://twitter.com/ShirmirArt/status/894940994898206720) amazing drawings by @ShirmirArt on twitter. If you haven't already, check out her fanart :)
> 
> And if you want to chat about Malec, Shadowhunters or anything else, I'm @katwriting on tumblr and @kat_writing on twitter. Come say hi! :)


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